After nine years of holding the world record for the most complicated watch ever, Vacheron Constantin has outdone itself by breaking its own record with the creation of an unprecedented timepiece.

Introducing the brand-new Berkley Grand Complication, an incredible pocket watch housing a staggering 63 complications.

In this article, we will delve into all the details of this unique piece, a testament to the exceptional skills of Vacheron Constantin’s esteemed Les Cabinotiers department.

A New World Record

Nine years after setting the previous record for the world’s most complicated watch, Vacheron Constantin presents an entirely new watch that claims the top spot in terms of complications.

In 2015, the company introduced the renowned reference 57260, which was the most complicated watch in the world at the time, not just for Vacheron Constantin but for the entire horological world.

With its 57 complications, the reference 57260 set a genuine world record.

Today, thanks to its special Les Cabinotiers department, which creates unique pieces upon request for significant clients, Vacheron Constantin has surpassed its own creation with the new Les Cabinotier Berkley Grand Complication.

This pocket watch is entirely crafted from 18-carat white gold, with generous dimensions of 90.8 mm in diameter and 50.55 mm in thickness.

Inside the case are the 63 separate complications, 245 rubies, and 2,877 components of the caliber that power all the fascinating functions, making this the most complicated watch ever. All this at an incredible weight of 960 grams!

Commissioned by W. R. Berkley, the billionaire owner of the W. R. Berkley Corporation insurance holding company and chairman of the board of trustees of New York University, this watch bears his name and includes a novel Chinese perpetual calendar among its many grand complications.

Heir to the extremely complicated “King Farouk” and reference 57260, both owned by W. R. Berkley, the new Les Cabinotier Berkley Grand Complication has left us and the entire collector’s world absolutely astonished.

The Complications of the New Berkley Grand Complication

Creating such a masterpiece required 11 years of work by the best watchmakers in Vacheron Constantin’s Les Cabinotiers department.

Commissioned by W. R. Berkley, this masterpiece boasts 63 different complications that display a vast amount of information on the watch’s two dials.

Among these functions, one stands out in particular.

To ensure that this watch could rightfully claim the title of the most complicated, Vacheron Constantin replaced the Judaic calendar present in the previous reference 57260 with the first-ever Chinese perpetual calendar.

Given the complex and irregular cycle of this calendar, the mechanical programming of Caliber 3752, which powers the new Berkley Grand Complication until 2200, was a true horological feat.

The request for this “Moon-Sun” calendar, which until now seemed impossible to feature in a mechanical watch, was specifically made by Mr. Berkley.

To create this complication, Vacheron Constantin had to use various algorithms to ensure the calendar’s accuracy until 2200, considering all the potential irregularities.

While the average lunar cycle is 29.53 days, the Chinese calendar uses 29 or 30 days per month, resulting in a calendar that is 11 days shorter than the solar year.

To accommodate this variation, the Chinese calendar incorporates a 13th intercalary or embolismic month every two or three years, totaling seven times over a 19-year Metonic cycle.

Thus, the Chinese year can have 353, 354, or 355 days, whereas the embolismic year can have 383, 384, or 385 days.

Regarding the indications on the main dial, specifically related to the Chinese calendar, Vacheron’s master watchmakers created a disc indication of the exact (though variable) date of the Chinese New Year.

This is an innovative function, considering that this date always falls between January 21 and February 21.

Below the company’s name on the main dial is a window showing the different zodiac signs indicating the current year (Dragon sign for 2024).

Besides this incredible Chinese perpetual calendar, the new Berkley Grand Complication also includes various astronomical functions.

A Gregorian perpetual calendar is featured on the watch’s second dial.

At 12 o’clock, the retrograde date is displayed, days of the week at 9 o’clock, months at 3 o’clock, and the leap year cycle through a window at 1 o’clock.

In addition to this calendar, the astronomical functions of this watch go further with the presence of a real-time constellation chart (at 12 o’clock on the second dial) as observed from Shanghai.

The quintessential astronomical function, the moon phase indicator, is displayed at 12 o’clock on the main dial.

Regarding the sound functions of this horological masterpiece, Vacheron’s master watchmakers equipped Caliber 3752 with a Grande Sonnerie mechanism with Westminster chimes.

This mechanism can reproduce the melody played by Big Ben’s bells on the Tower of Parliament in London, with 5 gongs and 5 hammers, all integrated with an alarm.

Moving to the most traditional and primary function of a watch, the indication of hours and minutes is displayed on the main dial along with world time. The watch also offers the ability to measure short times with its chronograph function.

The time display is regulator-type, with the hour hand placed in the counter at 12 o’clock on the main dial, separate from the central minute and second hands (retrograde type) placed in the arc at 6 o’clock.

The chronograph, with a split-seconds function, boasts precision to a fifth of a second.

The watch’s accuracy is ensured by the presence of a triple-axis tourbillon, beating at a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour.

On the second dial, we also have the world-timer.

Through the window at 10 o’clock, one of the 24 time zones can be selected. The counter at 9 o’clock indicates the hours and minutes of a second time zone, with the corresponding day and night indication at 11 o’clock.

Beyond these functions, there are the remaining complications for a total of 63. All other functions complement those just seen, making this the most complicated watch ever created.

Mark Kauzlarich from Hodinkee did an incredible job detailing and listing the functions of this incredible watch, so we refer to him. For timekeeping, there are 9 functions in total:

1. Hours, minutes, and seconds of the regulator type for mean solar time
2. Retrograde seconds for mean solar time
3. Day and night indication for the reference city
4. Visible armillary tourbillon regulator with spherical balance spring
5. Armillary sphere tourbillon
6. World time indication for 24 cities
7. Hour and minute indication for the second time zone (on the 12-hour display)
8. Day and night indication for the second time zone
9. Second time zone display system for the northern or southern hemisphere.

For the Gregorian perpetual calendar, there are 7 complications:

10. Gregorian perpetual calendar
11. Gregorian days of the week
12. Gregorian months
13. Retrograde Gregorian date
14. Leap year and four-year cycle indication
15. ISO 8601 week day number
16. ISO 8601 week number.

The Chinese perpetual calendar has 11 complications:

17. Chinese perpetual calendar
18. Chinese day number
19. Chinese month name
20. Chinese date indication
21. Chinese zodiac signs
22. 5 elements and 10 celestial stems
23. 6 energies and 12 earthly branches
24. Chinese year state (common or embolismic)
25. Month state (small or large)
26. Golden number indication within the 19-year Metonic cycle
27. Chinese New Year date indication in the Gregorian calendar.

Additionally, there is a Chinese agricultural perpetual calendar with 2 complications:

28. Chinese agricultural perpetual calendar
29. Indications of seasons, equinoxes, and solstices with the solar hand.

The astronomical calendar has 9 complications:

30. Sky chart (calibrated for Shanghai)
31. Sidereal hours
32. Sidereal minutes
33. Sunrise time (calibrated for Shanghai)
34. Sunset time (calibrated for Shanghai)
35. Equation of time
36. Day duration (calibrated for Shanghai)
37. Night duration (calibrated for Shanghai)
38. Moon phases and age, with correction every 1027 years.

The split-seconds chronograph has 4 complications:

39. Chronograph of fiftieths of a second (1 column wheel)
40. Split-seconds chronograph to the fifth of a second (1 column wheel)
41. 12-hour counter (1 column wheel)
42. 60-minute counter (1 column wheel).

The alarm function boasts 7 complications:

43. Progressive alarm with single gong and hammer sound
44. Alarm on/off indicator
45. Alarm choice indicator (standard or chime alarm)
46. Alarm mechanism coupled with the chime mechanism
47. Grande and petite sonnerie chime selection
48. Chime power reserve indicator
49. Chime power reserve indicator
50. Fully wound chime barrel disengagement system.

The Westminster Carillon includes 8 complications:

50. Westminster Carillon with 5 gongs and 5 hammers
51. Grande sonnerie with passing strike
52. Petite sonnerie with passing strike
53. Minute repeater
54. Night silence function (from 10:00 PM to 8:00 
55. Strike disengagement system. Fully wound chime barrel disengagement system
56. Indication of “grande” or “petite sonnerie” modes
57. Indication of “silence,” “strike,” and “strike.” Indication of silence/strike/night modes

Finally, we find the additional complications, totaling 6:

58. Power reserve indication for the movement
59. Power reserve indication for the chime
60. Indicator for the crown position
61. Winding system for the twin barrels
62. Manual regulation system with two positions and two directions
63. Recessed winding crown for the alarm mechanism

Final Thoughts

With this new incredible watch, Vacheron has once again established itself in the world of horology, creating a timepiece that will forever remain a milestone in the industry’s history.

In a world increasingly dominated by smartwatches and electronics, creating a mechanical masterpiece of this magnitude sends a clear message of innovation to the world of traditional timepieces. This watch also serves as a source of inspiration for all other watchmakers, encouraging them to continue crafting masterpieces with unique mechanics and complications.

I am aware that many will say we are looking at a watch that provides us with information we don’t need… perhaps.

But remember one thing, dear friends of IWS: it is precisely the irrationality that has always governed the world of watch collecting.

An irrationality that, however, allows us to fall deeply in love with such creations, just knowing that behind these 63 complications is the hand of man.

And then, as always, what drives us crazy are the things we can’t understand. Just like this fantastic watch, a timepiece we didn’t feel we needed, but once seen for the first time, we can’t help but want to discover and admire it forever.

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Sources:

Vacheron Costantin

Hodinkee: “The Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers ‘Berkley Grand Complication,’ With 63 Complications, Is The New Most Complicated Watch In The World”